Anti-Siang dam foot march to Itanagar reaches Dhemaji in Assam

A foot march against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) reached Dhemaji in Assam on Monday afternoon, November 9. The march, led by the Adi Galo Welfare Society (AGWS), is walking to Itanagar in support of the movement against the mega dam.

The marchers left Geku in Upper Siang district on November 4, and Monday was their sixth day on the road. They crossed the Ruksin gate into Assam and entered Jonai on Saturday morning, and are following National Highway 515 through Assam's Dhemaji district on the way to the Arunachal capital, The Arunachal Times reported.

Assam groups join in

Several organisations based in Assam backed the march as it passed through Jonai subdivision. The Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP) and the Asom Jatiyabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) were among them. AJP organising secretary Chittaranjan Basumatary, AJYCP Dhemaji district president Gyan Sarma and members of several youth groups walked with the team for part of the route. Student unions and ethnic organisations along the highway have also offered support, the report said.

Before the marchers crossed into Assam, former Arunachal chief minister Gegong Apang, Youth for Change (Itanagar) president Liyon Lingu, human rights activist Rimmo Lollen and Ruksin youth leader Kalen Taying met them at Ruksin to show solidarity.

'More than a source of power'

AGWS president Geyi Bagra, who is leading the march, said the aim was to build public opinion in both Arunachal Pradesh and Assam against the 11,200 MW project. He said the team wanted people in both states to understand its possible social, environmental and cultural effects.

Bagra said the Siang was not just a source of water or electricity but supported the lives, livelihoods and way of life of the communities along its banks, and that damming it could affect people in both states. He said the team would carry on to Itanagar to register its opposition to the project.

A widening campaign

The march is the latest sign of how far opposition to SUMP has spread beyond the villages directly affected. In recent days, 544 scientists and researchers have publicly backed the anti-dam protest. The project still has strong backers in government. BJP MP Tapir Gao has said the dam will be built "come what may".

Downstream, groups in Assam have also raised concerns about large dams on Arunachal's rivers. Supporters of SUMP say it would act as a water-storage buffer against flash floods from upstream in Tibet. Opponents fear displacement and damage to the river ecosystem.

NEInsider will follow the march as it nears Itanagar.